C-Mui Center

Don’t mind the korean news on the radio and the mix of VHS tapes, K-​pop CDs and other used items on display. There is a strange mix of things for sale at this shop. But there is solid seed. One of my faves from this place is the li hing mui strawberry. For some reason, this one is the best.
$ 10 minimum for credit card purchases. I just grab an extra couple bags of strawberry :)

Great little crack seed store in downtown. The lady was really nice and let me try some samples. Got variety of crack seeds and nuts. Also my childhood favorite Haw flakes.

Korean operated old-​school crack seed shop. Directly across from the Hawaii Theater Box Office on Bethel. Loads of jars on display with various flavored dried fruit… But don’t touch! Ready made bags are at the ready, just ask for what you want. Flavor is much better here than the more common crack seed offerings at various candy shops and convenience stores. Prices are generally $ 3.50 for ¼lb.

I have bought their pickled mango a couple times before. All I have to say is DON’T GET YOUR CRACKSEED OR PICKLED MANGO HERE. The lady never remembers me even when I buy lots of her delicious pickled mango. However, last time I went to buy some pickled mango, the old Chinese lady said that she «remembered» me from last time and that she mistakenly charged me for pickled mango at $ 2.40 when it should have been $ 24.00. She showed me a random receipt listing lots of prices for little things ($ 4.00, $ 2.40, $ 9.00…etc) and the total was $ 43.93. She said that last time I was in the shop all by myself and she mistakenly undercharged me.
However, last time I was there I was with my boyfriend who you can’t miss because he is 6’2″ big guy, haole surfer and we went in there quickly, purchased some pickled mango and left. I actually paid $ 56.00 for all the pickled mango I got. And I specifically remember NOT buying anything else because we didn’t want to pay for parking so we chanced it and parked (without paying) and ran in real quick and paid and left.
So when I was trying to pay for the new pickled mango this time around, she said, «You owe me $ 20 from last time, no worry, it was my mistake and I’ll just add it to your bill.» By this time she was holding my cc already and then just swiped my card and expected me to sign for this extra «$ 20» I owed her. I tried to explain to her that that was NOT my receipt, but she kept saying that she «remembered» me and that I had bought lots of little snacks and pickled mango. And when I was telling her that I didn’t buy lots of little snacks and that I paid $ 56 last time, she kept changing her story and talking about random things about how some guy had purchased from her the day before… blah blah blah.
She kept arguing with me and finally I just said, «keep your pickled mango, I’m not paying for my things plus some random extra $ 20. It’s not fair that I have to pay $ 20 extra for something that supposedly happened a long time ago and thats not mine.»
She has completely lost my business and I will never recommend anyone to go there. I will never go back despite the delicious pickled mango. Their prices are expensive and it seems that the old lady there will do anything to overcharge anyone. It’s too bad that crooks are people of all ages. Don’t get your crackseed there unless you want your bill to be $ 20 extra because I guarantee she tried that on the next people that walked in that day to buy her pickled mango. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

So far this place is the winner when it comes to crack seed. Cut the corner and just squeeze out the goodness.

For any tourist looking for exotic treats, this is a pretty good place to venture. Really nice lady and if you’re lucky enough to go in there while she makes some home-​made whatever, she’ll let you sample it.

They have candies of all kinds, mainly the Asian kind though. Some things are a little on the expensive side but other things are super cheap! The candies in the jar goes according to weight.
The lady in the shop is always so nice and willing to let you sample a piece of candy.
May look a little sketchy at first but I didn’t hear of anyone getting sick from that place yet. *fingers crossed*

Nice and friendly lady serving. Free sampling. yumm

I really like this place. It is a little bit pricey for crackseed but it’s such a rarity nowadays that it makes sense. There are very few of these snack joints around so you really have to appreciate the ones that are still in business. Oh, to be a kid again and run to the corner store to grab a little bag of seeds with your weekly allowance!
But I digress. The selection is good and the lady is nice. I always stop by here when I’m downtown. And that’s the final thing, I wish I lived closer so that I could visit more often!

When your at Hawaii Theatre on a Sunday. It is the only place open within Walking distance to grab snacks at during intermission. Kinda a last resort. The Lady that works there is nice.

Do I go in there enough? Funny it may be months at a time but the owner always remembers me and tells me I haven’t seen you in a while do you need more Lemon peel? ohh do I buy that much Lemon Peel I wonder… nah not that much, but I love the small mom and pop store feel with the owner always ready to help. it is a bit more expensive than Chinatown but on the other hand I noticed after reading some of the labels (When there are ingredient lists) that a lot of the seeds in Chinatown have aspartame which I don’t like, Give me the Real stuff! and besides the owner is always friendly and lets you try something new.
Oh, did I mention they have pretty good fresh Pickled Mango.
Augh!, my mouths watering I feel like Pavlov’s dog I’ve been conditioned :-)

A friend of mine turned me onto this place when I told him I was jonesing for some of that old school crack seed. C-​Mui is located across the street from and slightly makai of the Hawaii Theatre. There is a pretty good variety of seeds in the nostalgia-​inducing jars, and the couple times I’ve been in now the lady manning the store was quick to help in getting me what I wanted and even offered me some samples. I’ve so far picked up only a couple of faves – seedless cherry and seedless lee hing mui, but I’ll eventually get to some of the others I am sure.